A FINALIST in TV3’s reality game show Clever Girl Malaysia Shazana Kamaruzaman, 24, denies that she had cheated when answering a question during last week’s episode.

Following that incident, Netizens criticised Shazana and the television station, alleging foul play.

Shazana, a fourth-year medical student at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia in Gelang Patah, Johor, said she answered the question based on her knowledge.

When the programme’s adviser, Datin Sharifah Shawati, read out the question on which of the following titles is the work of the late Datuk Usman Awang, the Selangor representative excitedly pressed the buzzer even before Sharifah Shawati managed to read out all the four choices.

“When she mentioned the option A, I thought it was the answer, so I pressed the buzzer. Sharifah Shawati still managed to read out the option B.

“It was then that I realised option B was actually the correct answer.

“ So, I answered ‘B’ instead. But because the audience could not hear what Sharifah Shawati said for option B, plus the fact that when the host, Alif (Satar), wanted me to repeat the title of book, and I didn’t answer him, people started making assumptions that I’d been given the question beforehand,” Shazana said at Sri Pentas in Petaling Jaya recently.

Shazana said she had not read the book, but remembered reading about the author’s book entitled Jiwa Hamba.

“I didn’t answer Alif as I couldn’t remember the full title of the book. What I’d remembered then was only part of the title which is ‘Jiwa’ and that was the word I heard coming from Shawati before she stopped continuing with the rest of the multiple choices.

“It was ‘Jiwa’ that made me confidently say option ‘B’ was the answer,” said Shazana, who would not allow the incident to affect her focus in the finale.

She said following the incident, many had left nasty messages on her social media account.

“I don’t need this kind of criticism, so I had set my account to private.”